An aerial view of the Portland Generating Station, just across the Delaware River in Upper Mount Bethel Township, Pa. President Barack Obama is expected to unveil his climate-change proposals today which could affect coal-burning power plants and other air pollution emissions.NJ DEP

WASHINGTON D.C. — President Barack Obama is expected to unveil his plan to address climate change this afternoon.

The president will lay out a sweeping guideline for reducing carbon emissions and other greenhouse-gas pollution this afternoon, according to a video released by the White House.

“This Tuesday at Georgetown University, I’ll lay out my vision for where I believe we need to go,” the president said, citing his second-term inaugural address in January.

Environmental groups are already lauding the changes they say are coming. The Sierra Club said they expected to see new energy efficiency standards for federal buildings and appliances, new clean energy production of 6 million homes by 2020, and pledges to use the full authority of the Clean Air Act to reduce power plant emissions, they said.

“President Obama is finally putting action behind his words, which is exactly what the Sierra Club, our 2.1 million members and supporters, and coalition partners have worked mightily to achieve,” said Michael Brune, the executive director of the Sierra Club.

American scientists will need to design new fuels – and farmers would need to grow them, Obama said. Engineers will need to develop new sources of energy – and businesses will need to sell them, he added.

“There’s no single step that can reverse the effects of climate change, but when it comes to the world we leave our children, we owe it to them to do what we can,” the president said.

Some opposition to the proposed changes has already begun to take shape in Congress – with at least one Senator dubbing it a “national energy tax,” according to a report from the McClatchy Washington Bureau.

The Obama Administration has proposed some greenhouse gas changes, that have not yet taken effect. Last year, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed a rule that would set carbon dioxide limits for new power plants. Those final standards were expected in the spring but have not yet been issued.

New Jersey stands to benefit from the president's proposed changes, said Jeff Tittel, the director of the state's Sierra Club.

"The people of New Jersey have been so devastated by Superstorm Sandy and other extreme weather, this is really welcome news," Tittel said. "He's finally putting some action behind his words."